


I Like You Anyway

by Scorpiusdare



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura owns a cafe, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Cafe AU, F/M, Feel-good, Gay, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gen, Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I just finished it, Internalized Homophobia, Keith denies being gay, Light Angst, M/M, No Smut, Pansexual Matthew Holt, You'll thank me for this fic, happiness, honestly it was hard to write, i actually wrote this for a class, i struggled, its due tonight, its pure fluff, lotor and keith are siblings, nothing bad happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 05:05:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13357104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scorpiusdare/pseuds/Scorpiusdare
Summary: Barista Lance has a crush on surly Keith. The only problem is that he doesn't seem to return the feeling. Words are said, and Keith storms away. However, they're thrown together the next day at a dinner party.This was literally a guilty pleasure story





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my Creative Writing class and it is due at 12am and it is currently 10:30pm I can't believe myself.  
> My best friend had to help me write the ending by rping with me because I'm really tired.

Allura had just set up a cafe with her boyfriend Shiro in Little Falls. It was a college town with good people and easy money. She loved her staff and although they were a little quirky, everyone got along pretty well. Hunk was a master chef. He loved pastries, pies, souffles, macaroons; you name it he could bake it. However, he had bad impulse control and often ended up buying way more supplies than they needed and made too much of everything. Then there was Lance. Lance was the barista. Lance was… flirtatious. He was tall, skinny, part Cuban and tried to woo every girl and guy that stepped foot in the shop. While Hunk was mostly functional and good at being an adult, Lance was not. Rumor had it that he spent a good few months couchsurfing before finding the apartment he was in now. This left Pidge. If Allura was being honest with herself, she had hired Pidge to be a waiter, but she turned out to be a waitress. The short college student looked every inch a nerd, from big glasses to frazzled hair and the vocabulary of an engineer.

“Good morning Cafe Altea!” Lance burst into the cafe, the bell ringing frantically as the dark skinned male jumped over the counter, nimbly catching the falling tip jar before it hit the floor.

“One of these days, you’re going to break that jar or kick a hole in the display case and Allura will have your legs on a platter.” Hunk came around the corner, wiping flour on his apron and crossing his arms. “Why can’t you just come around the corner like a normal human being?” He asked, frowning at his roommate. Lance shrugged and grinned widely.

“You need to live every day like it’s your last Hunky Chunky!” Lance quipped to him. “No point in being mundane when you can,” he winked at the pastry chef, “be yourself and woo the ladies.” Hunk groaned loudly as Lance finger gunned his way over to his own apron and slipped it on. His roommate was a living and breathing meme. Sometimes he wondered how they ended up spending so much time together. Hunk muttered under his breath and went back to the kitchen. He had an order of fudge brownies to bake before early noon. Lance settled down and scrolled on his phone, waiting for the morning rush to start.

Right on time, Pidge showed up, dragging her brother Matt with her. The two could be mistaken for twins if one didn’t look hard enough. She waved at Lance and threw on her own apron. She was so short that it fell to her knees.

“Hey guys! I see Lance didn’t destroy anything this morning.” A loud snort came from Matt as he leaned against the counter and watched his sister open the window blinds and turn the ‘open’ sign on. “Can I get my usual?” He asked Lance. The barista winked at him

“That’s my job my guy. Are you in the mood for whipped cream today?” He asked, turning on the espresso machine and beginning to measure ingredients. Matt shook his head and patted his stomach.

“Nah. I’m trying to cut down on the sugar. All these days sitting around working on the computer is turning me into an uglier version of Hunk.”

“HEY!” Hunk hollered from the kitchen good naturedly. Matt rolled his eyes and shrugged. Lance sniggered quietly and quickly finished Matt’s drink, writing his name in swirly cursive before handing it to him. He started on another drink, measuring everything tediously compared to his usual eyeballing. Matt watched him with interest.

“What’s his deal? He’s acting like he’s on Masterchef television.” Pidge shrugged. She was about to respond, when the bell rang and a new customer came in.

Keith was of average height with black hair messily tied into a ponytail and a perpetual resting bitch face. He grumpily made his way to the counter, swiping his debit card and taking the now finished drink. He glanced at the name written on it and his cheeks reddened before he parked himself in the window seat, opening a laptop and putting on headphones. Matt glanced from the surly college student to Lance. The barista was leaning on the counter, staring dreamily at Keith with a whipped expression.

“Oh. That’s why.” Matt leaned over to Lance and whispered into his ear. “I see the flirter has been wooed by an unsuspecting customer.” Lance jumped, knocked out of his daze as he tried to cover up his interest.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I really need to do my work.” Lance scuttled into the back kitchen, avoiding the looming discussion of his feelings. Pidge rolled her eyes and grabbed some Windex.

“Go easy on him. Lance is used to people falling at his feet but that guy,” she jerked her head in Keith’s direction, “has barely batted an eyelash at Lance since the semester started.” Matthew raised an eyebrow at her words, swiping his coffee off the counter and kissing his sister on the cheek before leaving for work.

From his window seat, Keith could hear everything they were saying. The college student sighed to himself, sipping on the perfectly made coffee from Lance. Lance was attractive, he would admit that much. However, he wasn’t looking for a relationship. He wasn’t gay. He opened FaceBook, scrolling through his feed when his chat dinged. Opening it, he saw a message from his half brother Lotor.

 **L:** Hey. You’re at that coffee shop right now?

 **K:** Yeah. Every morning for the past two weeks. What do you need?

 **L:** We have an espresso machine at home...

 **K:** The coffee here is better.

 **L:** Liar. You’re there because of that cute barista aren’t you. How cute. I totally knew you were gay.

 **K:** Shut up.

 **L:** gaaaaaaaaaaaaay

He angerily slammed his laptop closed, simmering inside. He wasn’t gay. Sure, Lance was attractive for a guy but he wasn’t gay. How come everyone thought that but him!? Now he was getting more and more angry with himself for the confusion boiling in his head. He grabbed the coffee cup and walked over to the counter.

“Hey. Barista.” He said, his voice cold. Lance practically dove to the front.

“How can I help you sweetheart?” He asked affectionately, smiling widely. Keith was so cute.  
“Yeah. You can start by not flirting with me and writing hearts on my cup.” He hissed. Lance looked surprised.

“Oh.. I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable I just think you’re cute mister.” He offered an olive branch, hoping to soothe Keith’s temper. The other man wasn’t having it.

“Well I’m not gay. So bugger off and leave me alone.” He snapped. “It’s not natural.” He added for good measure before storming out of the cafe. Lance stood there with a blank expression for a few minutes before shaking his head and leaning against the counter. He wiped at his eyes before straightening. That had hurt. But honestly, there was something more going on here. Keith didn’t seem like the type of guy to just attack someone for flirting. His inner thoughts were interrupted by Allura bursting into the cafe.

“Lance! Do you remember Shiro and I telling you about a really old friend called Lotor?” Lance shook his head while Pidge popped out of the bathroom, wiping her hands.

“I do! You both went to a university with him and were basically the Trouble Trio right?” Pidge looked excited. “He’s one of the best engineers in the field right now with astrophysics oh my god.” Hunk snorted from the kitchen.

“Jesus Pidge you’re such a nerd.” She threw her apron at him through the door. Allura waved her phone frantically at her employees.

“I’m glad everyone seems to like him so much. He just asked me if I wanted to have everyone over for dinner tomorrow night. Are you guys free?” She asked, obviously excited to see Lotor again. “Oh yeah. Lance. He said that he’ll make sure his brother Keith is there.” She teased lightly. Everyone knew about Lance’s crush. He darkened and then sighed.

“Of course they’re brothers. Just my luck.” He groused. Then he smiled to himself. Maybe he could help Keith warm up to him. He still felt hurt about what the other had said, but even if they could be friends that would be nice. It would take him a while to get over his crush, but that couldn’t be helped. Hopefully the dinner would go smoothly. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so hard to write something that isn't smutty or really dark and angsty!!  
> Anyways leave me some comments/kudos and ideas for new fics if you wanna!
> 
> /scorpi out

The dinner out was going great until Keith showed up. Lotor was in the middle of an animated conversation with Shiro and Allura about their school days together while everyone else laughed and listened. He took a seat next to Lotor, a grumpy look on his face. He didn’t want to be here. Shrugging off his leather jacket, the black haired man sighed heavily and quietly told the waitress his order. He was surprised by Lotor throwing an arm around him mid sentence. 

“--and Keith.. None of you would have recognized Keith while I was in college. He was so clingy as a middle schooler I told mom and dad that they had raised a puppy not a child.” Lotor chuckled and patted his half brother affectionately. Keith pushed his arm away and glowered before taking a long sip of his root beer. Lance stared curiously. 

“Really? He’s so… prickly these days.” He said good naturedly, still trying to bridge the gap between the two of them. However hurtful Keith’s words had been, he knew that everything good was worth putting up a fight for.

“Only to you, arsehole.” Keith snapped at Lance. The Cuban looked shocked and then frowned.

“At least I’m not a coward.” Keith’s eyebrow twitched.

“Oh yeah? At least I’m not a homosexual that throws himself at every man that walks past him.” 

“Good thing you’re so good at lying to yourself about what you want. I think you’re too scared to say yes.” The barista lashed back, feeling hurt by Keith’s words. He liked to make other people feel appreciated and wanted. Harmless flirting wasn’t bad at all. Keith was just being downright awful at this point. Keith had a stunned look on his face like he’d been hit with a frying pan. 

By now, the table had gone silent as Lance and Keith sniped at each loudly. Allura had had enough. Throwing a frustrated look at Shiro and Lotor, she stood up and banged her glass down on the table. Everyone quieted down, and Lance and Keith both looked at her. 

“Listen. I’m sure I’m speaking for everyone here when I ask you two to pull your heads out of your arses and to make up. Go take your weird star crossed lovers quarrel outside and don’t come back until you’ve figured yourselves out!” 

Lance looked at the white haired woman with wide eyes, and then glanced at Keith. He wanted to argue, but he knew from experience that it wouldn't go well. He crossed his arms and sighed, not looking Keith in the eye. 

"Fine, lets go pony boy." He muttered, stepping out the door and looking up at the sky. Despite his feelings for the mullet haired weirdo, he had no idea how to voice them. Keith was hard to reach.. closed off, kept to himself, and seemed more focused on his school work than socializing. Lance cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh.. so..."

Keith shoved his hands into his pockets and glared at Allura before following Lance outside. He leaned against the building and promptly ignored Lance for a solid minute. Lance was infuriating to him and he wanted to smash his head in with a heavy coffee mug sometimes. He didn't know why the other got under his skin so much. 

"So what? Why are you so insistent on pissing me off every time we're near each other?"

"Believe it or not that's not at all my intention. Excuse me for being naturally outgoing and funny." He huffed, rolling his eyes and sitting on the step of the deck. "I come from a huge family, I'm used to yelling to be heard or throwing insults otherwise the little brats think they've won." He added. 

Keith made a grumbling noise. “It’s just Lotor and me… wait. Did you just call me a brat?” He asked, some of the hostility leaving his voice. He guessed he had been a little harsh. “I’m.. I’m sorry for earlier. You just get under my skin and I don’t know how to handle you.” He admitted. Lance’s words from earlier had hit home. Keith constantly swore he wasn’t gay, yet Lance was probably the most attractive boy he had ever met. He rubbed his temples in annoyance. “Can I ask you something?”

Lance couldn't help laughing a little bit. "Well, I was referring to my siblings, but I wouldn't be lying if I said you hadn't made me mad and hurt my feelings.. I, I really don't mean to be annoying or anything.. I'm the middle child, I'm kind of used to competing for attention.." he admitted quietly, picking at a loose thread on the hem of his jacket. He glanced back up at Keith and nodded. "Yeah, go for it.." 

“How did you know you were gay?” He blurted out. There was the kicker. Keith wanted to know. He knew Lance was right. He was too scared to ask, if he was going to be level with himself. His own brother thought he was gay, but Keith didn’t even know what it entailed. He definitely wasn’t flirtatious, flamboyant and artsy like every gay he had encountered. 

Lance was startled, but he sighed and stood, leaning against the wall beside Keith. "I dated this girl my sophomore year of high school. She was beautiful.. blonde, tall, athletic, a little troublesome.. We dated for almost a year. Now for the record, I'm bisexual, not gay. But.. Nyma and I just weren't compatible as boyfriend and girlfriend. Anyway, I started developing a crush on Nymas brother, Rolo. Which is a bad situation right from the start.. there wasn't really much to it other than the fact that I realized I found men as attractive as women. He turned me down nicely at least." He said. "You don't have to wear booty shorts or anything like that to be interested in men.. although my legs do look amazing in them." He joked. 

Keith looked a little humbled when Lance asserted he was bi, not gay. He felt his cheeks redden as Lance joked. He quickly pushed that image out of his mind. "So... hypothetically speaking... if I was gay... I wouldn't be all weird and.. stuff?" He asked awkwardly. He didn't want to suddenly turn into a flower boy if he did admit to finding Lance attractive.

Lance put a hand on Keith's shoulder, rolling his eyes. "Dude you aren't weird. Being a dude who's into dudes isn't a bad thing, and it doesn't change who you are. I'm not going to see you any differently, you're still my favorite pony tailed customer. I'm not going to judge you, and neither will Shiro, Allura, or any of our other friends. They're literally the most accepting friends a person could have." He assured him.

Keith sighed heavily and glanced up at Lance. “So uh.. Now that we have established that I’m not weird and you’re bisexual… If I’m going to be honest with us both, I like you Lance. It’s part of why I’ve been such an arse to you. I didn’t want to figure myself out  so I just took it out on you.” He said apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

Lance smiled slightly at him. "Not all of us are as perfect as me." He teased, and then his face turned serious. "But.. the truth is, I like you too. It's why I've been fighting back.. I figured it was your way of flirting until you got nasty. You're headstrong and smart, and handsome to boot. Keith Kogane, you'll be the end of me." He said, leaning forward and kissing him softly on the lips. He then offered a hand so that they could go back inside. Keith felt the strangest warmth in his chest as Lance spoke, and that feeling ripped into a fire as he was kissed. Feeling a little dazed by the sudden, but good, turn of events, he took Lance’s hand confidently.

“Uh… how are we gonna explain this to everyone after that big fight we had during dinner?”

"We simply tell them that we talked things out and that you had a moment of realization.. the truth, but less of it." He said, leading him back inside and squeezing his hand reassuringly. Keith decided he could handle that, as long as Lance was there to help him.


End file.
